He watched as Ninian went to help Remelin, who was still on her knees among the rubble. He moved toward them, intending to regroup with Ninian and protect Remelin. He could blast a path through the rubble for Ninian and Remelin to use, but he was fairly certain the entity would just bring the roof down on them again, and this time, it was possible it would hurt them to show Jhond its determination.
Jhond's mind drifted to the pendant round his neck and the ring on his finger. He knew he could get Remelin to safety beyond the walls of the cellar, but it would mean he would have to leave to do so. He would also need to take Ninian and the box with him; he couldn't risk leaving anything behind that the entity could make use of.
Not for the first time, Jhond wished Ninian was able to command and control the transportation artifacts. It would make everything so much easier. But there was only one Eynan, and those artifacts were meant only for his use. It was frustrating. At the same time, he knew his priority had to be the destruction of the entity. The cursed thing had purposely trapped Ninian and Remelin with Jhond to distract him, with the obvious intent of using his concern for them as yet another weapon in its desire to reintegrate with the rod and finally achieve the aim of its creation: the death of the Eynan.
No, he couldn't allow himself to be sidetracked now. Their presence was the last thing he wanted, but if the entity thought that would hinder him, it was in for a surprise. He was more determined than ever to destroy it.
Jhond had total trust in Ninian, and as he pulled Remelin to her feet, Jhond called, "Protect yourselves!"
"I will. Don't concern yourself with us," Ninian responded, already commencing to speak the words of magistry for his next spell.
Abruptly, Remelin straightened up and pushed away from Ninian. She took a step back, putting out a hand to steady herself as she almost tripped over a lump of rock.
A confused Ninian asked her, "Are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm just fine," Remelin said, but Jhond was horrified to hear her speak with the voice of the entity, the grating sound even worse when coming from her mouth.
"Hellas!" Ninian declared. "How is that possible?"
"I think Remelin tried to tell us," Jhond said heavily. "The entity had her in its power long before we arrived. It no longer needed contact or artifacts to reach her. It had formed such a strong link with her that she was constantly in its grip."
"More than you know," the entity in Remelin said. "It was such a pleasure to tell her how thoroughly she belongs to me and that she will never be free. I think you should forget this worthless child. It really is time for you to be afraid of me, for I am your destruction."
"Not so," Ninian said, hoping to give the being pause for thought. "We brought your crystal prison to destroy you and your taking over Remelin's body will not stop us."
The entity within Remelin laughed, the harsh sound cutting through the air like a live thing. "You think I don't know that. But by that very act you've allowed me to be in a position to become whole again. I rejoice at the prospect." As the entity spoke, Remelin stepped away from Ninian and toward Jhond. "And it will not be as easy as you presume to destroy her."
"You are far too confident when I stand between the two halves of your whole," Jhond said, lifting the box for the entity to see. "For I will never allow their joining."
"That might have been true when I was but a disembodied being, but you won't harm this living shell. I know how much you care for her."
"No, you only know Remelin's thoughts and desires. She might believe I have feelings for her, but that is only her interpretation."
"Ah yes, but it's based on your interactions and conversations with her. Her thoughts are quite specific, Jhond of Reeve. You were angry and upset over her original deceptive appearance, which reminded you of your lost Gallia, but even for that you forgave her readily," Remelin said, smiling as she stepped closer. "And her interpretation was that your feelings for her went beyond that superficial appearance and were indeed quite real."
She was so close to Jhond now Ninian was sure he must feel her breath as she said, "And that kiss was so passionate."
Kiss?
Ninian stared at Jhond, who flushed and spared a quick glance for Ninian before returning his attention to Remelin.
Kiss? What kiss? When did Jhond kiss Remi?
How blind had he been? He mentally shook himself; he didn't have time for this now. He had to concentrate on what the entity was really after.
The entity switched its attention to Ninian. "You seem surprised by mention of a kiss, friend Ninian. Could it be he didn't tell you? The friend he shares his life with, who knows everything about him?" It glanced back at Jhond. "Could that be it? You knew it was wrong to indulge yourself, so you couldn't tell the truth to your friend? And now that indulgence is going to cost you dearly. Sweet little Remelin truly loves you, but you know that, don't you? And you...how do you feel about her? Can you harm her to get to me?"
Ninian couldn't help but silently wonder about the answer to that question, too. Would Jhond be able to cast the spell to destroy the crystal if doing so also killed Remelin in the process? Ninian had to be ready for anything, just in case. But first he had to try to help Jhond derail the entity's plan and its confidence in its control of Remelin.
"It's one thing to steal someone's thoughts," Ninian said, "but another to really understand them. You're not human, so Remelin's thoughts can't compare with the way you think. If
think
is even the correct word when applied to a thing," Ninian added. "Remelin's thoughts can just as easily be the daydreams of a lovelorn girl, or the fantasies of a tired mind on the cusp of sleep."
"Thoughts are thoughts, no matter when one has them," the entity responded.
"Which just proves my point," Ninian declared. "Thoughts, daydreams and fantasies are all different aspects of the mind at work. What of sleep? Do you think the mind has full control of what passes through it when the body is sleeping?"
* * * *
Jhond heard Ninian conversing with the entity and was grateful his friend kept it occupied, giving him time to finalize his plan. He needed to use precise wording in the spell to make this work properly. It was more important than ever now that he get this right.
He brought to mind the exact wording he had learned from the cracked crystal about how to merge the two portions of the entity within the rod so it could be wiped from existence. Of course, the instructions hadn't concerned drawing the portion from a living being, but Jhond believed--hoped--it would work just as well in any case. It had to. The main purpose of the spell was to cause the rod to entice the missing portion to return to its home so it could fulfill its design. Jhond recognized that after being separated so long, the portion in the cellar had formed a belief in its individual existence and purpose. Therefore, the spell would need to be particularly strong to overcome its self-determination.
At the same time, however, Jhond was uncomfortably aware there was no guarantee Remelin wouldn't be affected, possibly injured, during the ensuing struggle that was sure to take place. But what choice did he have? He couldn't leave the thing existing inside her. If he pulled back because of the risk to her physical being, what would that mean for her mental state? If the entity was allowed to stay inside her, she would be just as good as dead anyway. At least this way she had a chance.
As if the entity sensed some of what he was thinking, Remelin turned to Jhond, regarding him steadily before it said, "Don't be under any misapprehension that I won't fight with every breath in her body to destroy you." It smiled, using Remelin's beautiful smile, sending a chill creeping down Jhond's spine. "Every bone, sinew, drop of blood and brain cell. She is my weapon of choice, and won't I enjoy wielding her?" Her smile widened, and Jhond felt ill.
He stepped closer to Remelin, holding her gaze with difficulty. "You claim I have feelings for her and that is what you're using to try to distract me, but you forget she has feelings for me. I know she will fight you every step of the way."
That chilling laugh filled the space again. "Fight me? Her talent is less than that of a puny infant compared to mine. I told her she is but dust under my feet, and that is no exaggeration. Whether she desires it or not, she will help me wipe you out of existence. Today will see the end of the Eynan and the rise of the Thail bloodline again."
"The rise of the Thail bloodline again?" Ninian interjected. "The Thail bloodline survived their betrayal at the time of Withdrawal due to the generosity of the magi council, but they are no more." Jhond caught Ninian's eye as he continued, "The last Thail died a hundred years ago. There
is
no Thail bloodline."
Ninian had taken the chance the entity didn't know of Remelin's true history as she hadn't been aware of the truth when the entity had first encountered her and cast its net over her.
"No!" The entity in Remelin roared, and the sound was that of a wounded animal. "If that is true, then all the more important to--" Abruptly, Remelin threw out a hand, and a blast of energy rushed toward Jhond, almost catching him unawares.
Just in time, he dove sideways before dropping to his knees and rolling out of the way as heat seared the air above him.
Jhond cursed himself for being drawn into an argument rather than finalizing his spell. He staggered to his feet, ducking away, grateful when Ninian engaged Remelin by throwing out bolts of energy at her to slow her approach. Meanwhile, Jhond began to murmur the ancient magi words of his spell, hearing Ninian's cry of pain as the entity fired more and more bolts of energy at him, each one hotter than the one before. Jhond had to ignore his friend's distress and concentrate on sending his own energy to envelope Remelin. He had to get it just right and pray it would expel the entity without harming her. The entity, realizing that Jhond was creating a specific spell, now divided spitting its bolts of energy between Jhond and Ninian. It was damned hard to concentrate while sending back energy bolts and avoiding those of the entity, and now Ninian was clearly hurting, it was even harder.
In desperation, Jhond took the time to throw up a barrier around himself so the entity's energy bolts couldn't reach him while he finalized his spell. He was relieved to see Ninian slowly clambering to his feet behind a distracted Remelin, who was concentrating on Jhond, though he was concerned his friend looked distinctly unsteady on his feet. Ninian was in no condition to take on the entity again just yet.
Hang on, my friend. Hang on.
Remelin was getting closer, her features contorted into a mixture of anger and eager pleasure. It must believe it had won. Ninian was down, and Jhond was hiding behind a shield. Jhond showed no outward sign of the powerful magistry he was about to dispatch.
Without warning, the entity changed tack and instead of sending blasts of power at Jhond, a surge of energy flowed over Jhond's shield, forcing it to contract. The shield changed color and sparks shot outward from it toward Remelin, but even more powerfully inward toward Jhond. Cursing, Jhond had to put his spell-casting on hold while he dealt with this new threat. He reinforced his shield and pushed it back to connect sharply with the entity's field until, with a bright flash and sharp crack, they cancelled each other out.
Abruptly, Ninian joined in the fight again, and while Remelin was distracted by having to avoid Ninian's attack, Jhond hurriedly completed his spell. With great relief and a fair amount of trepidation, he fired it at Remelin. It struck her in her right side as she was turning back to resume the confrontation with Jhond. He had to trust he'd not miscalculated. He quickly grabbed up the box containing the crystals and took out the cracked one, ready with the final part of the spell that would draw the entity to reform with the main section within the rod. From then on, it would be a straightforward act to create new crystal completely enclosing the rod. Once it was reformed and trapped, the next step would be the destruction of that new crystal, taking the rod with it.
When the energy from Jhond's spell hit her, Remelin froze in position as she was engulfed in a pale green haze. It swiftly drew tight around her until it looked as if she was covered in a second layer. Her eyes were wide and staring, fear darting in their depths. Then the green haze seemed to merge with her body, as if it was working its way beneath her clothing, and, where her skin was visible, sliding beneath it and digging into her flesh. Remelin looked terrified and tried to speak, but it was impossible. As it worked deeper into her body, even Remelin's eyes appeared to be covered by a film of green.
Ninian raced to stand beside Jhond, who was watching closely. It was taking longer than Jhond expected for his spell to force the energy from Remelin's body. Once it reached the entity, Jhond's energy should expel it from her body, as if shot from a cannon. It could be caught and transferred to the rod.
However, it was taking too long. He took an unconscious step forward. Once again, Remelin tried to speak, her mouth very slowly opening. That shouldn't be possible. "No," he muttered.
"What's wrong?" Ninian asked.
"I don't know," Jhond said. "It shouldn't--" He stopped as from Remelin's open mouth a fog of breath began to emerge. Green hazy fog. "No," Jhond repeated. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Remelin's form was no longer frozen. She bent forward from the waist and her mouth opened wider, and she spat out a huge glob of green mucus. Then her head slowly turned and her clear-eyed gaze fell on Jhond. Her lips turned up into a smile before she threw her head back and laughed, loud and raucous, the voice clearly that of the entity.
Jhond had failed. How was it possible that the entity--no, just a portion of the entity--could defeat the powerful spell of the Eynan?
* * * *
"I said you couldn't defeat me. I was created to destroy you," the entity inhabiting Remelin declared, almost dancing on the spot, laughing with glee.